Global cues perk up spot rubber prices

Global cues perk up spot rubber prices


Kottayam, Oct 13

Rubber prices improved on Wednesday. On the spot market, prices moved up following gains in the domestic and international futures.

An improvement in arrivals could be expected following a favourable change in weather. According to a Bangkok-based analyst, rubber remained bullish as Chinese buyers increased the purchases after the long holidays as their inventories were low.

Sheet rubber moved up to Rs 178 from Rs 175 a kg in the main marketing centres. The grade improved to Rs 177.5 (175) a kg both at Kottayam and Kochi according to Rubber Board.

Futures gain

In futures, the October series increased to Rs 184 (179.4), November to Rs 185.23 (179.98), December to Rs 189.07 (183.57) and January to Rs 192.9 (186.76) a kg for RSS 4 on the National Multi Commodity Exchange. RSS 3 flared up at its October futures to ¥323 (Rs 175.61) from ¥314.4 a kg during the day session and then to ¥326.6 (Rs 177.56) during the night session on Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM). RSS 3 (spot) firmed up to Rs 174.2 (172.13) a kg at Bangkok.

Spot rates were (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 178 (175); RSS-5: 169 (168); ungraded: 167 (165); ISNR 20: 174 (172) and latex 60 per cent: 116.5 (116).


Monsoon havoc for Rubber: Prices hit record highs
TOKYO/KOCHI (Commodity Online): Rubber prices moved ahead to hit a record high in the domestic as well as international markets as rains disrupted supplies and tapping in parts of the growing areas in Indonesia and India.

The prices hit a six-month high on the back of rising demand and limited supplies. Shanghai rubber advanced to the highest since 2002.

Futures in Tokyo gained as much as 1.9% to 334.4 yen per kilogram ($4,084 a metric ton). The prices are hovering at the peak levels since April 19 and traded at 333.1 yen in the later trades.

The buying is robust in the Chinese markets as the inventories had bottomed out after the National Day Holidays in the early this month.

Rubber inventories at the exchange warehouses in China remained lower at 36,900 tonnes on October 8, which was 76% lower than this year’s high of 151,832 tonnes on Jan. 21.

The March-delivery contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange last traded 3.1% higher at 30,230 yuan.

The rainfall too played key role in crewing up the prices. The monsoon has been heavy and longer than the previous year. This lowered latex levels in key plantation countries.

Indonesian rubber prices hit a record yesterday at USD 3.85 per kilogram on rains havoc, damaging tapping and lowering production.

Thailand prices were up 2.6% on Tuesday, at 116.50 baht ($3.87) per kg on rising demand from China and other key developing countries.

India rubber hovered at the peak levels of Rs.180 per kg on the National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE) for immediate contract.

On Tuesday, physical rubber prices ended almost unchanged due to positive change in the weather during the past couple of days. However, the prices remained firm on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 as the robust demand in the international markets jacked up prices.



Rubber Rallies as Rains Tighten Supply; Shanghai Price Reaches 8-Year High
Post under News on 10/13/2010 12:17:00 PM by Admin
Rubber climbed to the highest level in six months as persistent rainfall in key producing countries raised concerns that supplies may tighten. Shanghai rubber advanced to the highest since at least 2002.

Futures in Tokyo gained as much as 1.9 percent to 334.4 yen per kilogram ($4,084 a metric ton), the highest level since April 19, before trading at 333.1 yen at 11:39 a.m. local time. Shanghai futures surged as much as 4.6 percent to 30,670 yuan a ton ($4,599), the highest level since at least January 2002, according to Bloomberg data.

“The rubber industry remains bullish as Chinese buyers have increased purchases after National Day holidays as its inventories are still low,” said Varut Rungkhum, an analyst at Bangkok-based commodity broker Agro Wealth Ltd.

Natural-rubber inventories climbed 5,320 tons to 36,900 tons, the Shanghai exchange said Oct. 8, based on a survey of 10 warehouses in Shanghai, Shandong, Yunnan, Hainan and Tianjin. That was 76 percent lower than this year’s high of 151,832 tons on Jan. 21.

The March-delivery contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange last traded 3.1 percent higher at 30,230 yuan.

“Rainfall this year has been longer and heavier than the previous year, lowering latex levels in key producing countries,” Varut said by phone today. “Floods in Hainan will probably reduce output in China.”

Flooding in China’s southern island province of Hainan forced the evacuation of 440,000 people and destroyed 3,000 houses, with more rain expected, Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday, citing Governor Luo Baoming. A total of 166,700 hectares (411,925 acres) of crops have been damaged, including 74,000 hectares destroyed, the news agency said.

Indonesia Record

Cash prices in Thailand rose 2.6 percent yesterday to 116.50 baht ($3.87) per kilogram as demand from China, the largest buyer, increased to replenish its low inventories, according to the Rubber Research Institute of Thailand.

Rubber prices in Indonesia, the world’s second-largest producer, surged to a record yesterday of $3.85 a kilogram as heavy rain disrupted tapping, lowering production, according to the Rubber Association of Indonesia.

The price may advance to $4 a kilogram by the end of the month because of a “supply shortage,” while domestic demand keeps expanding, Asril Sutan Amir, the association’s chairman, said by phone today.

(bloomberg.com)


Tyres burned in China, not recycled in Brisbane
Post under News on 10/13/2010 12:13:00 PM by Admin
More than a million used tyres from Brisbane are being burnt in China's coal mines while local tyre recyclers struggle to source enough rubber to keep their businesses afloat.

Last year, more than 11 million used tyres were exported from Australia to China and Vietnam, with 1.5 million sent from Brisbane wharves.

Ipswich-based recycler Chip Tyre chief executive Dave Mohr said a loophole in government regulations, which listed tyres as "regulated" rather than a "hazardous" waste, had allowed their mass export.

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Mr Mohr said the practice was "unethical, if not illegal" under the Basel Convention, which prevents the exchange of hazardous waste between countries.

“One of the problems at the moment is that tyres are being baled and sent to China for dubious reasons,” he said. “They are not being recycled, they are being used to fuel kilns or power stations or whatever.”

Tyres are often collected from companies by the cheapest bidding firms, rather than rubber recycling businesses.

Queensland Waste Recyclers Association executive director Rick Ralph said stopping the export of old tyres was critical for local recycling businesses.

"We use the rubber in adhesives and we use it for all sorts of applications, for bitumen in roads," he said.

"If we don't do it, guess where will be importing the rubber back from? China.

"We have businesses now ready and wanting to invest, but because we can't close this loophole and support the local recyclers, there is a danger our local recyclers will go out of business."

The company appears to have won a sympathetic ear from the Queensland Government which is preparing to introduce a $35 a tonne waste levy on businesses storing wastes, including tyres.

Sustainability minister Kate Jones said exporting second-hand tyres would be discussed at a meeting next month of all Australian environment ministers.

"This is federal legislation. As a state minister I am not a signatory to it," she said.

However, Ms Jones said she had met several times with the QWRA and conceded there were obstacles for rubber recyclers.

"At the moment it is cheaper to put them to these carriers than to do something else with the tyres," she said.

Mr Mohr said his business could not compete with those that collected tyres and shipped them to China.

"It is two to three times more expensive for me to do what I am doing compared to what they are doing," he said.

"Everybody believes their tyres are being dealt with in a responsible manner, but they aren't."

Mr Mohr said the major problem was a non-governmental fee collected by tyre retailers for each passenger vehicle tyre they sold.

"At the moment what is happening is that they will collect the $2.50 [for each tyre] and then whoever is the cheapest to the back door to pick the tyres up gets the job," he said.

"So if they can get rid of the tyres for $1.50, or $1.10 each, as some people are talking about to get rid of the tyres, then they are letting the tyres go to whomever might be the cheapest, rather than whomever might be recycling."

Recycled tyre rubber can be turned into grout, playground softfall and mixed in with road bitumen.

Ms Jones said the new Queensland waste levy, to be introduced next July, would put a "price signal" into the waste market and force "cowboy" operators out of the industry.

However, she said the Environmental Protection Agency was already taking action against two tyre recyclers in southeast Queensland, including one business with a licence to store 3000 tyres that had collected 180,000 tyres.

A second tyre recycling business which operated without a licence and without a council development application had been fined $85,000.

Ms Jones promised tougher penalties and more inspectors to monitor Queensland's emerging waste industry.

"We will have to have increased regulation. I believe we will have to have additional officers," Ms Jones said.

Finding enough tyre rubber was one of a number of issues addressed in the new Queensland Waste Strategy 2010-2020, which was launched in July.

(smh.com.au)